Overview

Revenge Of The Nerds fans are likely to be happy with this new special edition DVD. Don't let the silly Panty Raid Edition title throw you -- this disc takes the film seriously and provides extras that make a good case for what sets the film apart from the rest of 1980's comedy pack. The transfer sticks to the basics, recycling the anamorphic widescreen transfer from the prior disc and offering Dolby mono and 2.0 stereo mixes. It's a shame that they didn't go for a new transfer, as the current one shows its age ...

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Overview

Revenge Of The Nerds fans are likely to be happy with this new special edition DVD. Don't let the silly Panty Raid Edition title throw you -- this disc takes the film seriously and provides extras that make a good case for what sets the film apart from the rest of 1980's comedy pack. The transfer sticks to the basics, recycling the anamorphic widescreen transfer from the prior disc and offering Dolby mono and 2.0 stereo mixes. It's a shame that they didn't go for a new transfer, as the current one shows its age in places, but the results are never less than watchable. The disc fares better elsewhere with some interesting bonus features. First up is a commentary featuring director Jeff Kanew and stars Robert Carradine, Timothy Busfield and Curtis Armstrong. Kanew delivers some interesting background about the making of the film while the actors tell a lot of fun stories about what it was like to be in front of the camera (and a few tales about what went on off-camera). Even better is "I'm A Nerd And Pretty Proud Of It," an engaging retrospective featurette that involves everyone from the commentary plus a few more key cast members. The participants tell an engaging tale of how Revenge Of The Nerds was "the little comedy that could" and their comments reveal how the hard work they all put into making the film the best it could be gave it the heart and inventiveness that its fans love. There is also a collection of deleted scenes -- it's easy to see why these were cut, as they are not as funny or well-realized as what ended up in the film, but they shed some interesting light on the filmmakers' choices in how to portray their characters. The most interesting extra is the oddest -- the pilot episode of a Revenge Of The Nerds television series. It doesn't involve any of the original creative team and the end results are fascinatingly awful, the kind of thing fans of creative train-wrecks will get a kick out of. The package is rounded out by trailers for the Revenge Of The Nerds and Revenge Of The Nerds II: Nerds In Paradise. In short, Revenge Of The Nerds: Panty Raid Edition is a solid special edition that is likely to please the fans it was clearly designed for.

Editorial Reviews

All Movie Guide

After numerous T & A comedies starring the beautiful people, Revenge of the Nerds spun comic and box-office gold from the risky decision to make disenfranchised dorks the heroes. And these are not just "movie nerds," either -- with the possible exception of future ER hunk Anthony Edwards, the Lambda Lambda Lambda fraternity is genuinely geeky. Although the film's intelligence level is more often in line with Porky's than a masterwork like Animal House, Revenge of the Nerds staked a claim for real public affection, enough to spawn three sequels and turn jock-bashing into a patriotic enterprise. The film lives off its succession of memorable set pieces, many of which focus on the disrobing of sorority sisters: the surveillance-enhanced panty raid, the pie-eating contest, the awkward first co-mingling of the Lambdas and the equally unfortunate Omega Mus. The frat decathlon caps the prank-pulling and one-upping perfectly, closing with the hilarious "Lambda Rap," which younger fans had memorized by their inevitable third or fourth viewing. Curtis Armstrong is particularly funny as the crude belcher Booger, just one of the great names that helped shape future nerd lore: Wormser, Poindexter, Takashi, and Gilbert fill out the crowd. Revenge of the Nerds delineates the college social scene with such willfully broad strokes that it sets up a classic battle between good and evil, picked-on and privileged. The underdog victory allows the audience, through cheeky grins, to celebrate who they really are, rather than who Hollywood tells them they wish they could be.

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